Aston Martin:  Unlucky to take just one win in 2012
Photo: Photo : CLEMENT MARIN - CLEMENT MARIN
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Aston Martin: Unlucky to take just one win in 2012

 

Aston Martin Racing works driver Darren Turner freely admits that, at the very start of the FIA WEC season, the team’s ambitions were to achieve podium finishes and that a win would be a bonus.  However, genuine pace and competitive performances at both the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, clearly demonstrated by the team’s LMGTE-Pro front row start in France, meant a re-evaluation of expectations from mid-season onwards: they would settle for nothing less than a victory.  Ultimately they were unlucky to have to wait until the final round in China to achieve that in the No.97 Vantage GTE.

That class victory, achieved by the season-long duo of Britain’s Turner and German Stefan Mücke – backed up by Mexico’s Adrian Fernandez at the longer events – confirmed the British marque’s place as runner up in the small but highly competitive category.  The Shanghai result topped off a run of six consecutive podium finishes to prove the pace and reliability of the V8-powered Aston Martin against the opposition.  But, as Turner admits, they needed a bit of help from the regulatory body, just as Porsche did.

“In the second half of the season at the flyaway races we were always there or thereabouts, but needed the Ferraris to falter to have a hope of winning.  We had the pace over a lap – the team’s three pole positions were icing on the cake – but we were maxed out doing five fuel stops per race so couldn’t compete with anyone doing just four.  Once the fuel capacity had been more evenly balanced between the cars, it helped us be competitive again.”

The two-time Le Mans class winner continues:  “We showed genuine pace in the first half of the year and the wet conditions at Spa suited us well until we had the gearbox problem.  That was our only non-finish of the year and it was a big disappointment.   Bahrain probably should have been our first victory if it hadn’t been for the slight exhaust problem, and there was plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing which was great for everyone.”

Aston Martin Racing hasn’t fully confirmed its plans for next year but Turner isn’t the only member of the team to hope they’ll be racing at the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, as part of the 2013 FIA WEC.  This season has been a solid year upon which to build for the future and there is only one target for next season:  the FIA GTE World Cup.                              

Fiona Miller

Photo:  SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT (SHANGHAI, CHINA), 6 HOURS OF SHANGHAI.  Pit stops played a crucial role in the outcome of the LMGTE-Pro races all season.